Infrared Imaging Helps Save Yellowstone’s Wolves

The wolf population in Yellowstone National Park is facing a vicious new predator: sarcoptic mange. It’s a form of scabies that causes canines to lose their hair, which translates into lost calories as the body tries to keep itself warm with holes in its shaggy coat. “If the wolves can’t replace the calories they lose, they die,” says Paul Cross, a disease ecologist at the Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center.

Scientists don’t know how to halt mange, and they don’t even know the full impact of the disease on the wolf population. But they’ve discovered a powerful tool for finding out: infrared cameras. Because heat is escaping through bald patches, these spots show up on thermal images of wolves wandering the wilderness. “We can see the color change with the infrared and estimate how much heat they’re losing,” Cross says. Using infrared is less invasive than traps, radio collars, or injections. The cameras enable scientists to collect body surface temperatures for each sick wolf, which helps them determine how many calories the mangy canines are losing relative to healthy wolves and therefore how long they have to live. Of course, the price of thermal cameras—left in the field with heat-sensitive triggers—remains something of a barrier. “They cost four to five grand apiece,” Cross says. “If a grizzly bear trashes one, we’re bummed.”